Hi everyone! This time I am no longer writing you from the comfort of my apartment in Florence, but rather from my porch out looking my back yard in New Hampshire.
I have been back in America now for almost a month and I still miss my home in Florence. When I first signed up for the trip to Florence through the UNH Manchester Summer Florence Program, I had no idea that it would become home to me even though it was such a short period of time. Because those six weeks were so amazing for me, coming home definitely felt like a whole new world. It started right when I got off the plane. Stepping out of the airport and knowing I was in America took a while to sink in. I remember when I first got back to my house everything seemed so different even though nothing had changed. The first morning that I woke up in my bed I remember not knowing where I was. This was just the beginning of a few weeks of confusion.
It took me those few weeks to stop waiting for everything around me to go back to the way it was done in Italy. One of the biggest changes for me was not having the people who had become my closest friends around me all the time. Going from having four girl roommates to having none was an adjustment.
The second hardest adjustment for me was not walking everywhere. I missed, and still miss, not having a car. Along with having to walk everywhere I miss what I got to see when I was walking through Florence. The unbelievable street art and street performers were one of my favorite parts of the trip. No matter what time of day or night it was if I wanted entertainment and to be around people I could just take a stroll, but being back home it is the exact opposite.
Another big adjustment for me in the beginning was the timing of a lot of things, one being meals. In Italy we would eat dinner and at times spend hours around the table. Being back in America we don’t do that, we eat much earlier and it seems to always be in a rush. Now that I have been back for a while all of those things are much easier, I am back into the speed of America and getting used to accepting the fact that I don’t live in Florence anymore.
With all of that being said, not all of being back home has been sad. I am so glad to be back with my family and friends. I missed my sister and brother and boyfriend so much. When I was in Florence, I really missed being able to see them whenever I waned.
I also took home some very valuable lessons with me. I learned the value of independence. I now know how strong I really am. I learned that absolutely anything is possible in life. If there is a dream in our heart it is there because we are supposed to follow it. I followed my dream to study in Italy and it led me to many more dreams that I will make come true.
I hope as you read this you are inspired to travel and find your own dreams because the feeling it gives you is inexplicable. I hate to admit this, but with each week that passes the lessons I learned fade a little more because it is so easy to get caught up in the routine of home life, but I know they are still embedded in my heart and I will always be able to recall them when I need their strength.
Just remember that there is a whole world out there waiting to be explored! Thank you for following me through my journey and I hope to have the opportunity to share about more adventures with you in the future!
Read Alexandra's previous blog articles:
A Summer Start in Florence Italy
Studying Away and Exploring the Beauty of Italy
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Alexandra Marcello is a sophomore business major at UNH Manchester. She is traveling this summer with the UNH Manchester Summer Florence Program. She is a graduate of Inter Lakes High School.
